The Reds haven’t brought in much outside help this offseason, but they’ve still been among the busiest teams in baseball. Their mission is keeping guys in-house. The club had already inked starter Bronson Arroyo to a three-year, $35 million extension. Then, late Thursday night, the club agreed on a six-year, $51 million contract with Jay Bruce, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon.

The Reds have been wanting to sign Votto, the reigning National League MVP, to some sort of extension, but ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick believes it won’t be for the six years that Bruce got. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Reds have also had preliminary discussions with Cueto about a long-term deal.

Here’s more from around the league on Friday …

* All was quiet on the Cliff Lee front as of Friday afternoon. The Rangers on Thursday presented Lee with a wide array of complex offers, and now, they wait. The Yankees had recently upped their proposal to seven years, but good friend CC Sabathia will give Lee his space, too. Is the ballyhooed left-hander agonizing over his decision right now? C.J. Wilson doesn’t think so. He thinks Lee is deer hunting.

* Young, non-tendered catcher Russell Martin could be close to making his decision. The Yankees, Red Sox and Blue Jays have been reported to have serious interest, with New York taking “an aggressive approach,” ESPN.com’s Buster Olney wrote via Twitter. He is said to be deciding between those three American League East teams.

* The Orioles made potential closer Kevin Gregga two-year offer worth $8 to $10 million, according to the Baltimore Sun. Gregg seems to be negotiating with several teams right now. The question is whether the O’s would give him a chance to be their ninth-inning man.

* According to Olney, Jorge Cantu is one of the first basemen “seriously being considered” by the Diamondbacks. Cantu was a solid run-producer in the middle of the Marlins’ lineup the last two-plus years, but struggled while playing sparingly with the Rangers towards the end of the 2010 season.

Fresh off this week’s general manager meetings, Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said the organization’s wants and needs haven’t changed and called the two-day meetings “helpful on a few different levels” in assessing what Baltimore will do this offseason.

“People have different timetables, but we don’t necessarily control those,” MacPhail said when asked when the Orioles first move may come. “We’ve had the discussions that we needed to have.”

While he declined to name specifics, MacPhail said there was “no shortage of activity” in Orlando, Fla., both on the trade market and in conversations the organization had with free agents on its wish list.

Tops on that list is a corner infield power bat, making players like Adrian Beltre, Paul Konerko, Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn attractive, as well as Carlos Pena and Adam LaRoche.

The Orioles would also like to add a veteran starter and a few bullpen arms and, although they have money to spend -with only Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts, Michael Gonzalez and Brian Matusz owed money next season — their wealth of young pitching makes for an attractive trade partner.

As for the criticism that the Orioles are moving too deliberately while other teams wheel and deal, MacPhail -who hasn’t been “too surprised” by any of the early trades — makes no apologies for how he conducts offseason business.

“What’s important at the end of the day is that the moves are the ones that help the club,” he said. “Whether they move fast or slow is less impactful than whether they are right.”

The Orioles, who lost seven players to free agency this winter, continue to have discussions with the respective agents of right-hander Koji Uehara and infielders Ty Wigginton and Cesar Izturis about a possible return to Baltimore. Whether that happens with Uehara and Wigginton could come down to a matter of contract length, with Wigginton and Izturis’ fate in Baltimore tied to what specific bat(s) the Orioles bring in.

While the organization expressed initial interest in Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, it’s doubtful they get involved in the bidding and even less likely that they win exclusive negotiating rights. While Izturis left a hole at shortstop, the Orioles aren’t too keen on what the asking price of Nishioka will amount to and would prefer to spend their money elsewhere.

If that is the case, president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail wasn’t
willing to tip his hand on Thursday afternoon, saying that move to
recall top prospect third baseman Josh Bell is one that is likely to only last
a few days.

“This move is strictly Luke Scott blowing a
hamstring after hitting a home run [Wednesday night] and Felix Pie
likely to come off [the disabled list] in the next few days,” MacPhail
said. “And how do we get from point A to point B.”

The move
definitely raises questions, particularly of a potential trade for
corner infielders Ty Wigginton and Miguel Tejada, both who
are thought to be on the market and actively shopped.

“I might
have something on the horizon,” MacPhail said when asked about the
likelihood of a trade. “We’ve had conversations, and the more you get
close to the end of the month the more conversations you are going to
have. But there’s nothing right around the corner that I’m aware of.”

MacPhail
also shot down that thought that the Orioles would consider moving
Tejada back to shortstop –his original position — thus putting
current shortstop Cesar Izturis on the market.

“That has
never uttered anybody’s lips in the clubhouse to do that,” MacPhail
said. “Right not we are just looking to fill Scott’s DL spot.”

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